outside!
DA
Foot skills ARE goalkeeper skills. A goal keeper should be able to play outside of the box.
FIFA needs to stop "gaslighting" goalkeepers
- Thread starter Michael Varn
- Start date
I think you should focus on fighting PKs, especially when done as tiebreakers ... those are pretty bad for GKs, they lose most of the time there too.
Yes, Goal keepers have to focus on their hands as well as their feet but don't need to be as proficient with their feet as midfielders and they don't need to be as good a striker as forwards. Those defenders, midfielders and forwards, might astonish you, also do a lot of work outside of team practice to be good at their required individual skills. For one - stamina work is done outside of team practice and that requires a lot of time and effort. Accurate striking work is mostly done outside of team practice.
I love watching a goal keeper with a great feet. We wouldn't have videos like this without great feet goalies.
notintheface
GOLD
Goalkeeper-specific skills these days are playing with your feet. To give you an idea-- the Post-Shot xG versus Shots on Target stats for the EPL, every single keeper is rated pretty much the same, even though we feel like there are keepers who are better shot-stoppers (de Gea, etc). What that stat says to me is that you could largely put someone who is only moderately good at stopping shots but is better playing with their feet, distribution, etc (Alisson, Ederson) and they will be more successful in today's game.
Which is what the top clubs are doing, right? You get GK kids with 1 day a week of GK-specific training, and then either 1 or 2 days a week of training with their team playing with their feet. The game has changed and the statistics clearly show that. It is far better for a GK to play as a fifth defender, allowing your outside backs to push up further in the attack, than it is for them to be able to stop 2 or 3 more goals per season.
^ well said
PKs are easy for a reason. I agree on eliminating them as a tiebreaker.
outside!
DA
While I agree that ending a game with PK's sucks, I honestly cannot think of anything significantly better. At some point the game needs to end. After OT, all of the players are burnt. More field play would just lead to injuries.
Regarding the original post, goal keeping is a very hard position, but so is every position on the field. At least goal keepers don't have to run seven miles per game and deal with that type of conditioning in addition to their other training.
notintheface
GOLD
For the youngers, it's easy-- the team with more points in their previous games in a tournament wins. Both teams know going into the match who wins if the teams draw, and that should naturally open up the game more, leading to a smaller likelihood of a draw. The chances of both teams coming into a final after three games having the same number of points is very rare. If both teams have gotten 10 points per game (or whatever it is, 6 for the win + 3 for goals + 1 clean sheet) and not given up any goals on the way to the final, then let both youngers teams be champions, they've earned it. Putting PK pressure on a 10 year old is pretty dodgy.
Corner kick tries - 11 v 11 (or less for younger) in one half of a field. The try ends when the ball leaves the half-field, a goal is scored, or a situation occurs that would be a free kick for the defending team in regular play. Each team gets 3 tries and they get to pick which corner to kick from. If still tied after 3 tries, continue 1 more at a time.
In theory this sounds good but you know what the strategy of the team with the most points will be in the championship game. Bunker and go 0-0 bc winning is always more important than development in a championship game. It's great for 10 year olds to learn how to deal with the pressure when it really doesn't matter, or at least it should not matter.
A championship game should be a clean slate and the team that can play the best under the pressure should win it all.
notintheface
GOLD
I completely agree that there are a ton of unscrupulous coaches out there who will tell the kids to just kick the ball out and sub on every throw-in, hell, we've all seen that down 1 goal late. I would hope that a tiebreaker-wins game would either expose those coaches for the absurdity or they would rise to the occasion and actually play.
Keep in mind it is really hard to successfully get a bunch of 10-year-olds to park the bus. The most successful youngers teams almost universally strive to keep the ball in the opponent's half, and dropping 6 out of your 9, for example, make that really really hard to do. Sooner or later a younger will naturally make a defensive mistake leading to shipping a goal.
There is a difference between parking the bus and abusing the sub rules.
I don’t mind parking the bus. That is legitimate strategy.
But I will absolutely extend the time for a coach-led delay of game. There is nothing like adding 60 seconds for every substitution to get the leading team to actually play ball.
outside!
DA
While not a bad idea, it is still more field play on very tired legs by players that may be close to being heat stressed or dehydrated and would never let anyone else no. The advantage of kicks from the mark is that the game ends quickly and there is no more running. It is just a game afterall. I think it would be helpful if there was some education of all players that the team that loses in PK's is because the field players didn't score enough during the game. Maybe the referee could include that in the talk before starting kicks from the mark.
Not to mention potential for injury on Corner Kicks.
Always thought they should be like hockey and have the OT periods be with less players on the field. Hockey goes from 6 on the ice to 4. So have soccer go from 11 to 8 players for each team. Opens it up and much more likely to get a goal in OT instead of going to penalties.
While my children will like this bc they are the tall, big and strong ones, I think it's unfair to the shorter players/teams. And yes, my children score a lot on corner kicks bc they have good heads on them.
outside!
DA
And make one of the ones that come off be the keeper! Kind of kidding but it would be interesting.
Michael Varn
BRONZE
I agree, rules should not be changed in the context you described. BUT there was a rule change that did go into effect in in the Early 1990's, and it had a dramatic effect on how the goalkeeping position has been played ever since.
I mean no disrespect, but goalkeepers today have been bogged down by all of this multi tasking. This is more of a generational thing than a soccer thing. Goalkeepers should spend all of their time doing just one thing: perfecting goalkeeper spécific skills, so let the other players perfect their skills.
Michael Varn
BRONZE
I would like to make one final point:
Every modern goalkeeper on any level, if they had a choice, would elect to pick up the ball especially if they have to play the ball quickly in order to prevent a goal from being scored on them. No goalkeeper wants to deal with balls with their feet, or God forbid dribbling it. This would be their préférence in the present, or in any future era in this beautifull game. We had this option in the past. Perhaps présent and future goalkeepers should have this option as well. Now wether or not they realize it, that is exactly what they want!
Keepers would still need to be great with their feet as they are still a passing options outside the 18 as well.